The FReeper Foxhole Remembers the 87th. Armored Recon. Battalion (5/73 -10/73) - Apr. 12th, 2005

www.87th.org.il ^

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.

.................................................................. .................... ...........................................

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The Unit that lead the way to the Suez Canal crossing and the turning point in the 1973 War

History of the 87th

The 87th Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was formed in May 1973 as a reserve unit of the 143rd Armored Division ("Pillar of Fire"). Most crewmen and officers were from tank and reconnaissance units; young soldiers that just had completed their regular military service, and for whom this training was their first reserve call. The battalion CO was Lieutenant-Colonel Ben-Zion (Bentzi) Carmeli, a veteran of the six day war (see "The Tanks of Tammuz" by Shabtai Tevet). Company commanders were: "A" company - Captain Rafael (Rafi) Mitzafon, "B" company - Captain Rafael (Rafi) Bar-Lev, and "C" company - Captain Yigal Abiri. Captain Israel Zohar commanded the jeep company, "D". The battalion consisted of 24 tanks - Patton M60A1 - and 36 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers. The unit underwent several weeks of rigorous training at "Ze'elim", the main army training facility, and participated three months later in a large divisional exercise. The former division CO, Major-General Shemuel Gonen (Gorodish) had been assigned GOC Southern Command and the new division CO was the former GOC Southern Command, Major-General (Res.) Ariel (Arik) Sharon.



In the morning hours of October 6th 1973 - Yom Kippur, the holiest of all Jewish holydays, when it was clear to the General Staff and the government that war with Egypt and Syria was going to break out during the day, the reserve IDF units were mobilized including the 87th together with the entire 143rd armored division. The division was sent in emergency to the Sinai frontier against the Egyptians. During the late hours of the night and early morning hours of the October 7th, the unit rushed to the Sinai desert's central sector. All armored vehicles moved on tracks due to lack of tank transporters.


Bentzi Carmeli - the battallion's first CO

In the afternoon hours of October 7th, the 87th assembled a few kilometers south-west of Tasa, on the road code-named "Akavish" (Spider), leading from Tasa to the north-eastern "corner" of the Great Bitter Lake and took up positions on a sandy ridge overlooking the area of Deversoir located to the North of the point where the Suez Canal joins the northern extremity of the Great Bitter Lake. Here the unit experienced its baptism of fire, repelling the Egyptian attempts to advance in this area. The next morning , October 8th, a counter-attack was launched by the Southern Command, lead by the 162nd armored division under the command of Major-General Adan, against the bridgehead of the Egyptian 2nd army. The initial reports which seemed to indicate success for the 162nd caused Southern Command to order General Sharon to move the 143rd armored division hastily southward in order to attack the Egyptian 3rd army. As this movement would leave a key area exposed, the deputy CO of the division, Colonel Jackie Even, after having obtained approval from General Sharon, ordered the 87th recon battalion to hold positions on the sandy hill area code-named "Hamadia" - an area controlling the designated future crossing point of the Suez Canal. In fact, a week later Sharon's division stormed this area and bridged the Canal into Egypt in a maneuver that would eventually change the course of the war. Positioned alone on the "Hamadia" sandy ridge, the 87th came under heavy attack by outnumbering Egyptian forces, and at 15:30 the tank of Lieutenant-Colonel Carmeli was hit directly by a heavy mortar shell. Carmeli, who was standing exposed in the turret, was killed instantly by shrapnel, and a tank platoon commander injured. The 87th continued to hold the line, under the command of the CO of "A" company, Captain Rafi Mitzafon.


APC from "B" Company in one of the first days of the war

Later that day it became clear to Southern Command that the counterattack by General Adan's division had failed and General Sharon was ordered to turn the 143rd back to its former position. Just at the right moment, the tanks of the 600th armored brigade, rushing at full speed, appeared in the "Hamadia" area to relieve the hard pressured 87th and to drive the Egyptians back. The 87th withdrew a couple of kilometers from the battle zone in order to reorganize.

On the evening of October 8th, while the 87th was refueling and rearming, a soft-spoken young major reported to the unit HQ. This was Yoav Brom, just having received his orders from the HQ of the 14th armored brigade to take over the command of the 87th which now had been attached to the brigade. Yoav had been on vacation abroad when war broke out, and had returned to Israel on the first flight possible. His quiet professional attitude inspired everybody in the unit, which soon regained its fighting spirit in spite of the loss of their former and highly respected commander.


Yoav Brom, the 87th.'s second commanding officer.

On October the 9th the 87th was ordered to perform a scouting mission after dark in order to locate weak points along the sector border between the Egyptian 2nd and 3rd armies. Finding such a corridor could be utilized in a future breakthrough to the eastern bank of the Suez Canal and crossing and establishing of a bridgehead on the western bank. In addition the 87th was ordered to locate, if possible, survivors from the IDF strongholds on the eastern Canal bank. At nighttime, after a long move in the dunes, the task force of three companies and medical and ordnance platoons reached the bank of the Great Bitter Lake. The enemy forces could be clearly observed, while the 87th remained undiscovered by the Egyptians. Before dawn the 87th returned undisturbed through the dunes, completing a mission that was vital for the planning of the future breakthrough and crossing of the Canal.


Sharon during the Yom Kippur War of 1973

During the next two days the unit was reorganized, rearmed and resupplied. On October 12th the unit was ordered to deploy in the southern sector of the brigade, and to hold the front line from the "Kishuf" (Witchcraft) strongpoint and in a sector southward about 30 km. wide. The main action during the next couple of days was patrolling and observing the movements of the enemy forces.


M60

On October 14th, shortly after sunrise, the Egyptian army launched an attack along the entire front line. The Egyptian 21st armored division, equipped with Russian T-62 tanks, attacked in the sector of the 143rd armored division. In the ensuing battle the Egyptian forces were pushed back with heavy losses. At the end of the day 200 Egyptian tanks had been destroyed and the 143rd division lost 20 tanks. The tanks of the 87th battalion launched a successful counterattack against the southern flank of the Egyptian division, inflicting serious damage and causing confusion in the enemy lines. But price paid by the 87th was heavy: seven warriors had been killed during the day and many more injured, including the commanders of "A" and "C" companies. They were replaced by two junior officers, Captain Assaf Avizohar ("A") and Lieutenant Itzik Kahana ("C").

Following the success in crushing the Egyptian attack, the 143rd division issued battle orders, on the morning of October 15th, for Operation "Abirei Lev" (Knights of Heart). The orders included:

1. To lead a storm attack on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal close to the northern tip of the Great Bitter Lake.
2. To establish a bridgehead on the western bank of the Canal by the 247th paratrooper brigade crossing in rubber dinghies.
3. To expand the bridgehead by armored vehicles being ferried over the Canal by barges and special amphibious tank transporters ("Alligators").
4. To extend and expand the battle on the western bank by two more armored divisions crossing the Canal on floating bridges, in order to surround the two Egyptian armies on both banks of the canal.

[SAMWolf]

The 87th, still attached to the 14th armored brigade, was ordered to lead the attack, taking advantage of its experience from the scouting mission on October 9th. Shortly before H-Hour, which was set at 1800 hrs, the commanding officer of the 14th Brigade, Colonel Amnon Reshef, addressed the warriors of the 87th. He emphasized the importance of the unit's mission – to lead the brigade, the division, Southern Command, and in fact the entire IDF in an attack that could (and indeed would) change the course of the war, transferring the battle into the enemy's homeland encircling the 3rd Egyptian army and launching pressure on the 2nd army, which was stuck in its October 14th position. The 87th was ordered to reach the area designated for the launching of the Canal crossing by going westward along the sector border between the two Egyptian armies (the same path the unit had identified on its scouting mission), then northwards along the road that runs parallel to the Canal, and finally westwards towards the bank of the Canal in a three-pronged movement. "B" company was ordered to lead the unit and to take up the northernmost position, "C" company would follow and hold the center, and finally "A" company, accompanied by the medical and ordnance platoons, would deploy in the southern position, in the actual area of the Canal crossing. Three tank and three paratrooper battalions were to follow the 87th and attack the southern flank of the 2nd Army. The paratroopers of the 247th brigade would follow to establish the bridgehead on the western bank of the Canal.


The burnt-out tank of Yoav Brom, the 87th.'s second commanding officer, a few yards east of the "Tirtur-Lexicon" crossing.

The initial phase of the operation caught the Egyptians by total surprise, and the 87th reached its designated positions undiscovered, receiving only sporadic and uncoordinated fire, mainly from small arms. Unluckily, one armor-piercing 5.56 mm bullet hit the APC of Captain Dov Dechter, injured him in the back of the neck and left "A" Company without deputy CO.


Medical platoons APC and a "C" company tank - October 16th - morning

By then, the Egyptian forces had recovered from the surprise, and the 184th tank battalion was met with heavy anti-tank fire and suffered severe losses, especially in the vicinity of the strategically important road junction "Tirtur-Lexicon". North of this junction and East of the Lexicon road was an area, traversed by numerous deep irrigation canals, nicknamed "The Chinese Farm". This was actually an experimental agricultural farm built by the Japanese before the Six Day War. When the Israeli forces reached this area after the 1967 war, the Japanese inscriptions on the equipment were mistaken for Chinese letters, hence the name. Holding the "Tirtur-Lexicon" junction and the surrounding key area, including the "Chinese Farm", was obligatory in order to control the transport of the heavy bridging equipment for the crossing of the Canal.


The APC that carried injured soldiers, ambushed by the Egyptians. All 8 soldiers on board were killed

When it became clear around 0300 hrs on October 16th that "Tirtur-Lexicon" was still controlled by the Egyptians, the 87th was ordered to launch an attack on the junction from the west. Almost at the beginning of the attack the 87th came under heavy tank and missile fire. A small unit of four tanks and few APC's, lead by the battalion CO, Major Yoav Brom, did actually reach and pass the junction, but then his tank was hit and he was killed instantly. The tanks of the CO's of "A" and "C" companies were both hit, the one of "C" destroyed. The two company commanders were injured, but reached the medical platoon that had followed the tanks eastward on "Tirtur", and were treated and evacuated. Further to the north, "B" company, which had been ordered to join and assist the 79th armored battalion, had many casualties, including the company commander, Captain Bar-Lev who was killed when his tank was hit and exploded.


Destroyed armored vehicles, Tirtur-Lexicon crossing

Dawn of October 16th found the unit fighting for its existence as a coherent combat unit. At that stage 87th had lost its commander as well as many officers in key positions and only few tanks remained serviceable. One APC, carrying injured soldiers from the night battle at the center section of the "Chinese Farm" to the unit's medical platoon situated on "Tirtur", was ambushed by the Egyptians, who killed all the defenseless wounded soldiers. A transmission with a terrible significance was broadcast over the battalion network by the battalion's deputy CO: "'Shikma' stations ('Shikma' was the battalion's call sign), this is Sunray Minor - who is still alive - report in order - over". More than anything else, this one cruel sentence told the fate of the gallant warriors of the 87th. Altogether, 25 warriors were killed during the heroic night battle and scores were injured.


Armored vehicles damaged by landmines, Tirtur-Lexicon crossing

Later in the morning, a tank with a brigade commander's mark appeared in the area where the remaining vehicles of the 87th had gathered. This was the tank of Colonel Reshef of the 14th brigade. After having assessed the situation, he decided to reassign the remaining warriors of the 87th to other units of the brigade.

[SAMWolf]

From this moment, the morning of October 16th, the number "87" disappeared from the order of battle of the 143rd division and was erased from the boards of the Command Posts. Nevertheless, the warriors of the 87th continued the fight within their new units, mainly the 184th and the 79th tank Battalions, until the cease-fire. On October 17th, an improvised tank company, commanded by lieutenant Yair Litvitz, that had joined the 79th tank battalion participated in a successful battle in the division's southern sector area against forces of the Egyptian 3rd army trying to interfere with the Canal crossing. On October 18th, the 184th battalion participated in the final and successful effort to gain control of the key area around the "Tirtur-Lexicon" junction, but the crews of the 87th again paid a price of 6 more APC warriors who were killed in this action. On October 21st, the former CO of "A" company, Captain Rafi Mitzafon, who had been injured and evacuated to hospital from where he "escaped", was killed while serving as deputy CO of a battalion within the 600th brigade. The dispersed warriors of the 87th continued the battle on the western bank of the Suez Canal, almost reaching Ismailia, when cease-fire was announced on October 22nd at 1900 hrs.. In the last minutes before the fighting stopped, 3 tanks from the 87th, attached to the paratroopers, were hit and burned in the southern sector of Ismailia, 4 crewmen being killed.


'H' company crossing the Suez Canal

Several weeks later, the 87th was re-created as a light reconnaissance unit of the 143rd division, with APC's and jeeps, including jeeps carrying TOW anti-tank missile launchers. The new CO was Lieutenant-Colonel Amatzia ("Patzi") Chen, a seasoned veteran who commanded the famous "Shaked" reconnaissance unit during the "War of Attrition" following the Six Day War. "Shaked" veterans and many of the 87th's warriors joined together to form this unit, that performed reconnaissance and patrols in the whole division sector. During this activity, the 87th suffered its last casualty, a young APC driver who was killed by a direct hit by an anti-tank missile on January 12th.



The 87th was 'born' just 5 months before the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War and was decimated in battle. But the 87th had gained an honored prominent place in the history of the IDF, being remembered as the unit that located the critical corridor between the Egyptian armies and later lead the way to the Canal crossing and to the turning point of the War.


The last 3 tanks of the 87th. to be destroyed - in the southern outskirts of Ismailia, at the time of cease-fire on Oct. 22nd.

The commander of the 143rd armored division, Major-General Arik Sharon, later to become Prime Minister of the Government of Israel, wrote in a letter to the veterans of the 87th:


Egyptian Prisoners

"At the moment of the cease-fire, when I was standing in the outskirts of Ismailia watching the last tanks of the 87th burning, I saw before my eyes the unit's warriors as I saw them on the day of Yom Kippur. I remembered the expression of resolve on their faces, and I knew now that they had not disappointed. Many of them did not live to see the end of the war, but they were the men that made the end of the war possible. I have known many battalions throughout my military career; the 87th was among the finest of them all."

Additional Sources:

www.cnn.com
lexicorient.com
www.mideastweb.org

[SAMWolf]

Post Scriptum: The 87th suffered altogether 112 casualties during the war, 45 of whom were killed in action – including two successive battalion CO's and two company CO's.



Major Yoav Brom was posthumously promoted to rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and in addition received the Medal of Courage. Captain Rafi Bar-Lev and Captain Rafi Mitzafon were both posthumously promoted to rank of Major.

Lieutenant-Colonel Bentzi Carmeli was posthumously awarded a citation of valor by the IDF Chief-of-Staff.

The 87th armored reconnaissance battalion was formed urgently when the winds of war started blowing, five months before the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. Its personnel was a combination of young warriors from elite units and seasoned recon veterans. On the third day of the war it was the 87th that alone held the front line in a critical area against superior enemy forces, on the night between the fourth and fifth day it was the 87th that went on a scouting mission behind enemy lines and located the weak border area between the two Egyptian armies. And in the great operation "Knights of Hearts" – the crossing of the Suez Canal, that finally turned the tides of war, it was the 87th that spearheaded the attack and lead General Sharon's division ("Pillar of Fire") to the brink of the Canal. And there, in the terrible night battle, the 87th ceased to exist as a coherent fighting unit. But its valiant warriors had had a great impact on the battle on the Egyptian front, and the survivors would go on fighting within other units until the end of the war.



Because of its short life span, and the large number of casualties (112, including 45 killed in action) that included unit and subunit commanders, the unit's legacy evaporated and was left to oblivion for many years. The warriors were assigned to other reserve units and lost contact with each other and with the bereaved families of the fallen. But lately, a group of 87th veterans "Legacy of the 87th." has taken up the challenge of restoring the units legacy to its deserved place in IDF's history. A veterans' convention is to be held at the IDF Armored Corps Memorial Site in May 2005.

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

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We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

I realized that our Veterans have no "official" seal, so we created one as part of that recognition. To see what it looks like and the Star that we have dedicated to you, the Veteran, please check out our site.

Veterans Wall of Honor

Blue Stars for a Safe Return

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

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LINK TO FOXHOLE THREADS INDEXED by PAR35

[alfa6]

Monday Night Shift Bump for the Treadhead Tuesday Edition of the Freeper Foxhole

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[snippy_about_it]

"FALL IN" to the FReeper Foxhole!



It's TreadHead Tuesday!


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[snippy_about_it]

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************Snippy, I bequeath to you the FR TH PL.

148 posted on 08/24/2004 11:39:45 AM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)

Good morning Cannoneer, fall in with an update please. :-)

[M. Espinola]

Once again, a well documented excellent post!

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[Iris7]

Good morning, SAM, and soldiers of the Foxhole.

It is unfortunate to note that there appear to be many people in Israel who do not trust Ariel Sharon. I find this point of view incomprehensible. I guess there are fools, and damned fools, everywhere.

Reconnaissance units in the IDF are elite units. Their training, at least in the past, is first class plus.

The IDF Parachute units during the 1973 era look to me to be the best assault troops in the world. Their assault on the Jordanian positions during the Battle for Jerusalem in 1967 was professional in the highest degree.

[E.G.C.]

((HUGS))Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[radu]

Good morning everyone!

To all our military men and women past and present, military family members, and to our allies who stand beside us
Thank You!

[radu]

Good morning everyone!

To all our military men and women past and present, military family members, and to our allies who stand beside us
Thank You!

[radu]

aaaaaaaargh! Sorry about the double post.
I don't know how it happened. I only clicked "post" one time.

[The Mayor]

April 12, 2005

Paneled Houses

Read:
Haggai 2:1-9

Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins? -Haggai 1:4

Bible In One Year: Psalm 4-6

The prophecy of Haggai is often overlooked in Scripture, but it holds much for us. This brief book consists of four messages from God to the Jewish exiles who had returned from Babylon. Their mission was to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.

They started well, but then their enthusiasm waned and they turned to building houses for themselves. In his first message, Haggai asked, "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" (1:4).

In message two (2:1-9), Haggai asked if anyone remembered the temple Solomon had built, and that King Nebuchadnezzar destroyed. A few elderly exiles could recall the former glory. By comparison, the abandoned work looked pitiful.

Let's think for a moment about our work of building the church. For us, the church is the body of Christ-the believers themselves (1 Corinthians 12:27). Our mission as followers of Jesus is to become a strong, dedicated, growing, witnessing church.

How is your local congregation doing? Is it busy doing the work of God? Are you personally involved? Or have you become distracted with the work of building your own "paneled houses"? -Dave Egner

God gives us talents to be used for Him.
Should then His work for lack of zeal decline?
His kingdom first! Our light must not grow dim-
Through faithful servants may His glory shine! -Mollon

Commitment to Christ goes hand in hand with commitment to His church.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
The Church We Need
Developing The Art Of Gracious Disagreement

[GailA]

Good morning. It rained all day yesterday, a good day to stay in and stay dry. More is expected today. It's my quilt guild meeting day so I am venturing out.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on April 12:
1573 Jacques Bonfrère Dutch bible expert
1724 Lyman Hall US physician (signed Declaration of Independence)
1777 Henry Clay [the Great Compromiser] US politician
1793 Ferdinand I the Good Natured, Emperor of Austria/king of Hungary
1831 George Burgwyn Anderson Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
1831 Grenville Mellen Dodge Major General (Union volunteers)
1856 William M Conway English historian/explorer (Spitzbergen)
1871 Ioannis Metaxas Greek General/dictator (1936-41)
1879 Frederick G Melcher US, publisher/editor/founded children book week
1883 Imogen Cunningham photographer (1965 ASMP award)
1884 Otto Meyerhof Germany, psychologist/biochemist (Nobel-1922)
1911 Darrell A Amyx US archaeologist (Greek Ceramics)
1912 Herbert Mills singer, (Mills Brothers)
1923 Ann Miller [Lucille Ann Collier] Houston TX, dancer/actress (On the Town)
1923 Maria Callas opera singer (Carmen)
1927 Jane Withers Atlanta GA, actress (All Together Now, Josephine the plumber)
1927 Patrick Meehan petty criminal
1928 Brooklyn Supreme Belgium, stallion, heaviest known horse (1450 kg)
1932 Tiny Tim [Herbert Butros Khaury] New York NY, singer (Tip Toe Thru' the Tulips With Me)
1937 Igor Petrovich Volk Russia, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-12)
1940 Herbie Hancock Chicago IL, pianist (I Thought it was You)
1942 Frank Bank Hollywood CA, actor (Lumpy-Leave it to Beaver)
1944 John Kay [Joachim F Krauledat] Tilsit East Prussia Germany, rocker (Steppenwolf-Born to be Wild)
1946 Ed[ward] O'Neill Youngstown OH, actor(Al Bundy-Married with Children)
1947 David Letterman Indianapolis IN, comedian (Late Night)
1950 David Cassidy New York NY, singer/actor (Keith-Partridge Family)
1956 Andy Garcia [Andrés Arturo García Menéndez] Havana Cube, actor (Stand & Deliver, 8 Million Ways to Die)
1973 Pamela Polk Berlin WI, Miss Wisconsin-America (1996)

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Deaths which occurred on April 12:
0352 Julius I pope (337-52), dies
1817 Charles Messier "comet ferret" & catalogs famous "M objects", dies
1864 Thomas Green US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 50
1878 William M "Boss" Tweed New York politician, dies
1912 Clara Barton organized American Red Cross, dies at 90


1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt 32nd US President (1933-1945, Democrat), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs GA at 63


1946 August Borms Flemish nazi collaborator, executed at 67
1959 Ernest Willem Mulder composer, dies at 60
1975 Joséphine Baker US/French revue artist (Folies-Bergère), dies at 68
1976 Paul Ford actor (Phil Silvers Show), dies at 74
1977 Philip K Wrigley baseball owner (Chicago Cubs), dies at 82
1981 Joe Louis [Brown bomber] US heavyweight champion (1937-49),dies at 66
1987 Ewan Calague economist/statistician (Social Security) dies at 90
1989 Abbie Hoffman yippie "peace" activist of the 60's, dies at 52
1989 Sugar Ray Robinson [Walker Smith Jr] world welterweight champion (1946-51)/5-time middleweight champion, dies of Alzheimers at 67
1991 James Schuyler US poet (Pulitzer 1980), dies
1999 Lecil Martin "BoxCar Willie", country singer, 67. spent 22 years in the Air Force.

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GWOT Casualties

Iraq
12-Apr-2003 2 | US: 2 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Corporal Jesus Angel Gonzalez Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire
US Lance Corporal David Edward Owens Jr. Baghdad Hostile - hostile fire

12-Apr-2004 2 | US: 2 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Lance Corporal Robert Paul Zurheide Jr. Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US Lance Corporal Brad S. Shuder Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire


Afghanistan/other
116 04/12/04 Szwec, Adrian Basil Commander 43 Navy Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay Non-hostile - non-combat related

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White

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On this day...
0352 St Julius I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1065 Pilgrims under bishop Günther of Bamberg reach Jerusalem
1111 Pope Paschalis II crowns Henry V, Roman emperor
1204 4th Crusade occupies & plunders Constantinople
1545 French king François I orders protestants of Vaudois to be killed
1606 England adopts the Union Jack as its flag
1654 England, Ireland & Scotland unite(or else)
1709 1st edition of Tattler magazine in England
1770 Townsend Acts repealed
1776 Halifax resolution for independence adopted by North Carolina
1782 Battle at Les Saintes West-Indies British fleet beats French
1811 1st US colonists on Pacific coast arrive at Cape Disappointment WA
1844 Texas became a US territory
1857 Gustave Flaubert's "Madame Bovary" published
1858 1st US billiards championship is held in Detroit (Michael J Phelan wins)


1861 Fort Sumter SC is shelled by Confederacy, starting the Civil War


1862 James Andrews steals Confederate train (General) at Kennesaw GA
1862 Union troops occupy Fort Pulaski GA
1863 Gunboat battle at Bayou Teche LA
1864 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest captures Fort Pillow TN
1864 Battle of Blair's Landing LA
1869 North Carolina legislature passes anti-Klan Law
1872 Jesse James gang robs bank in Columbia KY (1 dead/$1,500)
1877 Catcher's mask 1st used in a baseball game
1892 George C Blickensderfer patents portable typewriter
1893 Battle at Hoornkrans Southwest-Africa German Schutztruppen chases away Hottentotten under Hendrik Witbooi
1894 British & Belgian secret accord on dividing Central-Africa
1905 French Dufaux brothers test helicopter
1911 1st non-stop London-Paris flight (Pierre Prier in 3 hours 56 minutes)
1919 British Parliament passes a 48-hour work week with minimum wages
1927 General Chiang Kai-shek begins counter revolution in Shanghai
1928 Assassination attempt on king Victor Emmanuel II of Italy
1931 Spanish voters reject the monarchy
1934 Highest velocity wind ever recorded on Mount Washington NH, 231 mph
1935 "Your Hit Parade", debuts on radio
1935 Germany prohibits publishing "not-Arian" writers
1942 Japan kills about 400 Filipino officers in Bataan
1945 Canadian troops liberate Nazi concentration camp Westerbork, Netherlands

1945 Harry Truman sworn in as 33rd US President

1946 Syria gains independence from France
1951 Israeli Knesset officially designates April 13 as Holocaust Day
1954 Bill Haley & the Comets record "Rock Around the Clock"
1954 Joe Turner releases "Shake, Rattle & Roll"

1955 Salk polio vaccine safe & effective; 4 billion dimes marched

1959 France Observator reports torture practice by French army in Algeria
1960 Bill Veeck & Chicago Comiskey Park debut the "Exploding Scoreboard"

1961 Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin becomes 1st person to orbit Earth (Vostok 1)

1963 Birmingham police use dogs & cattle prods on peaceful demonstrators
1966 Rocker Jan Berry crashes his Corvette into a parked truck
1966 1st B-52 bombing on North Vietnam
1969 Simon & Garfunkel releases "The Boxer"
1970 Yankees dedicate plaques to Mickey Mantle & Joe DiMaggio
1980 US Olympic Committee endorses a boycott of the Moscow games

1981 Maiden voyage Space Transit System-space shuttle Columbia launched (astronauts Robert L. Crippen and John W. Young)

1983 Harold Washington becomes Chicago's 1st black mayor
1987 Texaco files for bankruptcy
1988 Frank Robinson replaces Cal Ripkin as manager of the Baltimore Orioles
1988 Harvard University patents genetically engineered mouse (1st for animal life)
1988 Sonny Bono elected mayor of Palm Springs CA
1990 1st meeting of East German democratically elected parliament, acknowledges responsibility for Nazi holocaust & asks for forgiveness
1990 Greyhound Bus hires new drivers to replace strikers
1990 James Brown moves to a work-release center after serving 15 months
1991 US announces closing of 31 major US military bases
1991 Nepalese Congress party wins general elections
1992 Lynn Gunther of California threatens to blow herself up in front of UN
1996 Raul Salinas de Gortari ordered to stand trial on charges of hiding millions of dollars in unexplained income during his career as administrator of food-subsidy programs in the 1980s.
1999 A federal judge in Little Rock, Ark., found President Clinton in contempt of court for lying during his sworn deposition in Jan. 1998 Clinton fined $1,202, the cost of the judge's trip to Washington to preside over the deposition(legacy alert)
2000 Attorney General Janet Reno met in Miami with the U.S. relatives of Elian Gonzalez, after which she ordered them to bring the 6-year-old boy to an airport the next day so he could be taken to a reunion with his father in Washington. (legacy alert)
2002 Boston's Cardinal Bernard Law ignored growing demands for his resignation because of the sex scandal engulfing the church. Law ended up resigning the following December.
2003 25th day of Operation Iraqi Freedom US officials said 1,200 police and judicial officers will go to Iraq to help restore order. In western Iraq, US forces stopped a busload of men who had $630,000 in cash and a letter offering rewards for killing American soldiers. Baghdad Museum lost some 50,000 artefacts after 48 hours of looting. Unesco later reported 150,000 items lost with a combined value in the billions. It was later reported that losses were minimal and that curators had put away most valuables into vaults before the war began.
Lt. Gen. Amer al-Saadi (7 of diamonds), Saddam Hussein's science adviser, surrendered to US military authorities.
Jessica Lynch returned to the United States after treatment at a U.S. military hospital in Germany.
2004 Mexican Morelos state Gov. Sergio Estrada ordered the firing of all 552 state police officers following charges that commanders provided protection to drug traffickers.

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Mauritius : Ougadi
North Carolina : Halifax Independence Day (1776)
Russia : Cosmonaut Day
US : Egg Salad Week
US : National Garden Week Week (Day 2)
Big Wind Day
Look up at the Sky Day - don't you have anything better to do?
Reach as High as You Can Day
Dog Appreciation Month

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Religious Observances

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Religious History
1204 The armies of the Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople and established the Latin Empire.
1572 French-born Swiss reformer Theodore Beza (John Calvin's successor) wrote in a letter to Scottish reformer John Knox: 'They whose citizenship is in heaven ought to have their whole dependence on heaven.'
1799 The Church Missionary Society was organized in London under the original name of the Society for Missions in Africa and the East. This Anglican missions agency currently works in fields located in Africa, Ceylon, India, Pakistan, Iran, Palestine and the Far East.
1882 The Evangelical Reformed Church in Northwest Germany was created by royal decree when the king of Prussia ordered the 124 "reformed" congregations scattered throughout the area to become incorporated as an independent territorial church.
1914 An 11-day constitutional convention in Hot Springs, Arkansas, ended. During its sessions, the Assemblies of God denomination was founded.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"There is no sense in being pessimistic. It wouldn't work anyway."

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Snippy.

[SAMWolf]

Morning alfa6.